Housewife Gone Wild

Chapter 24

Wendy made me a nutritious breakfast. I was halfway through my meal when Yvonne came bounding in. “Mom, you’re not going to work today,” she declared. “You have to stay home and play with me.”

I looked at her while spooning my gruel. “From now on, I will be going back to work,” I said. “But we’ll sign you up for some fun classes–you’ll have teachers and classmates to keep you company.”

Yvonne’s face paled at the mention of classes. In an instant, she was pointing at me, her voice rising to a wail. “I don’t want classes. You’re mean. I hate you. I’m telling Grandma.” She turned and ran toward the door to find her grandmother.

“Come back,” I commanded, my voice icy. “Go ahead–try telling on me.”

Yvonne’s face was still wet with crocodile tears. She turned to look at me, her eyes wide–almost like she was seeing me for the first time. And for just a second, I caught a flicker of fear.

slowly, took a sip of lemon water, and fixed her with a cold stare. “Yvonne,

you’d rather have a different mother, go ask

stupid. She blinked, getting the message quickly. After a pause, she inched closer, clutching my arm. “Mom, I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I won’t talk back again. And I won’t tattle to Grandma. I know you love

clever and perceptive. It hurt to remember how, in my previous life, she’d still been taking

said I deserved the pain, that I was my own worst

wanted was to raise

us to offer support rather than impose limitations, to foster happiness instead of hardship,

us who grew up in the 80s and 90s, caught between these new ideas and how we were raised, it became exhausting to know what

temples, I

the marks Jared had left the night before–love bites scattered down my neck and back. Back then, I would’ve covered every

one. Why should I? A little passion between spouses was nothing